Restaurant Review : Zaffran at Lower Parel, Mumbai, India

The very popular Zaffran of Crawford Market fame has recently opened its doors at Todi Mills Compound, Lower Parel in the former premises of the nightclub Zinc. We decided to check it out for dinner on a weekday.

Easy to locate just off the main S.B. Marg, the restaurant doors open to a small reception area. On your left, the restaurant extends in a straight line offering plenty of seating. One side of the tables are housed in 'bird-cage'-like structures with a flowing water feature behind them. The lighting is bright (too bright for my liking) and the music is at blaring levels for a sit down dinner venue. We were promptly showed to one of the cage tables and the seats are definitely more comfortable than those of the stand alone tables on the other side.

We went through the menu and it looked exhaustive. Selection of wines by the glass was as expected, limited. We ordered 2 glasses of Reveilo Shyrah red wine priced at INR 350++ each. I was in the mood to have some Tandoori Murg and ordered half portion (INR 300). The preparation was strictly average especially when compared with what even an average Delhi dhaba churns out in that name. Galouti kebabs (INR 270 veg / INR 350 mutton) were nothing to write home about either. They were harder than what Galouti kebabs are meant to be. Being a Lucknow native, my high expectations were probably unreasonable but even then Zaffran's kebabs did not leave an impression.

For the main course, we ordered a very boring Dal Makhani (INR 225), decent Palak Paneer (INR 300) and a greasy and salty Gosht Biryani (INR 400). Laccha Parantha (INR 60) and plain Naan (INR 50) made up the bread basket. It was all very standard fare and I had to keep reminding myself we are eating at THE popular and 'authentic' Zaffran.

Zaffran at Lower Parel is a classic example of the teething troubles faced by a new restaurant. Uber bright interiors and eager to please (bordering on over-bearing) waiters topped with inconsistent food as compared to the parent branch do not make for a favourable first impression. A sore common point I have noticed in lot of Mumbai restaurants is a high staff-to-diners ratio. Whilst this is desirable so that all patrons are catered to on busy days, on other leaner days it is a problem. The staff tends to group chat in the middle of the restaurant or generally just huddle together in a group. I have noticed this in Copper Chimney, Moti Mahal and now Zaffran. A bit of staff training in etiquette can go a long way in improving the diners' experience in this aspect. Zaffran has it in it to be a good restaurant and with Mumbai's woeful shortage of restaurants offering quality Mughlai fare, I'd like to give them a second chance. Sometime in the near future,  I'll try to be back and then decide for sure if this is a hit or miss. 

Hotel Review : The James at Soho, New York City, USA

Zeroing in on where to live in NYC is a task. Once you've had your fill of Times Square and Central Park, you might want to check out the newer revamped neighborhoods like Meatpacking and vibrant pockets like Soho, Nolita etc which offer lot of charm and character but unfortunately lack good deluxe hotels. Friends recommended the (relatively) newly opened The James in Soho and I was game to give it a try. Only so I could better explore the Soho / Nolita / Chinatown area famed for its boutiques and quaint shops and restaurants.

The James is housed in an uber modern building done all in glass and white. This new hotel on Soho's Grand Street is easy to find and if you are taking the Subway, from the Canal Street 1 exit it is practically the only tall building you'll see. For tourists to NYC a star attraction of the hotel is its proximity to not one but 3 Canal Street subway lines - Red, Blue and Yellow. I loved the connectivity and just for that, would rate the hotel top-notch.

We were greeted by a cheery bell boy who promptly helped us with our luggage. The concierge / luggage desk is located on the ground floor from where you take an elevator to the reception on the second floor. The all glass lift is meant to give you a view of Soho but at that angle, frankly there isn't much to see. Check-in was smooth and we were shown to our room on the 11th floor of the 13 floor hotel. Rooms are what you would expect in NYC - compact with little or no space for keeping luggage. Modern fittings equip the room. The bathroom has a shade slider to cordon the view from the room and my guess is there wasn't enough space to have a concrete wall hence the slider ! The mini-bar was astounding. Unlike most hotels, this is not a tiny fridge with 30 ml whisky / vodka bottles stocked in. On offer were 500ml bottles of Single Malt, Vodka, Gin and a range of mixers along with a basket of ice which was replenished daily on request. Perfect recipe to host a party in your room!

We had breakfast included in our daily room rate and this was served in the hugely popular David Burke's Kitchen on the ground level. Owing to its massive popularity, the restaurant has its own entry and exit on the ground floor thus allowing its patrons to avoid the hotel crowd altogether. The restaurant is large albeit a bit stuffy with no windows. Due to its architecture, the restaurant is actually located one level below ground floor. You do have the morning sun streaming in but I really do prefer windows in a crowded place. The restaurant's decor reminded me of the iconic Fishy Fishy Cafe in Kinsale, Ireland. The primary decorative items in both restaurants are blown up photographs of the meat suppliers who have remained unchanged for the past few years. Some of them can be seen posing proudly with their catch. The American breakfast served at David Burke's Kitchen is standard fare. Your choice of eggs is served with toasts, sausages and bacon or mushrooms and potatoes. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice along with tea or coffee completes the offering. The size was ample to fill you up till lunch time. Staff is efficient and courteous without being overbearing.

The James has a popular roof top bar 'Jimmy' which we could not experience. For the 5 days we were there, the bar was booked daily for private events till 10 pm. It is a pity they do not have a policy for keeping at least one small section open for hotel guests. The bar can get noisy though and on two occasions the noise percolated down to our room and kept us up till the party was over. We tried the other bar at The James : Garden at David Burke which is somewhat lesser known. It was strictly passable with poor lighting, few patrons and uncomfortable seating.

The concierge services at The James are sub-par. I enquired with the desk on a particular Broadway show and likelihood of getting good seats on a Friday evening. They promptly connected me to an external agency they work with which is 'expensive but will get you the best seats in town.' I wasn't impressed as all I was looking for really were some pointers on how to get seats ourselves rather than pay full price for good seats topped with a premium! The concierge wasn't too helpful on the restaurant scene as well. With all due respect, I ended up giving them more information on where to go and what to do than I received from them! I cannot be blamed for thinking this way when all my queries for certain destinations were met with - 'oh, is that so? Let me check on the internet.' Whilst on the topic, I shall certainly add that surfing the net is a pleasure at The James especially in the evenings. They have caught onto the latest NYC craze of wine and cheese evenings and you can surf the internet while savouring the two. The cheese selection is nothing much to write home about. The wine selection (3 choices) is quite decent but what ticked me off is the absence of glassware and cutlery. So if you think it is cool (and acceptable in a 5 star hotel) to be sipping wine from a water glass and be having cheese off paper napkins, then The James will appeal to you. 

Many of the problems of The James are teething issues really which an efficient management can fix promptly if they wish. I had no complaints with our room but plenty with the housekeeping. On a couple of occasions, we returned to dusty floors, a clogged shower area and a jammed air duct in the bathroom. Drinking water was not replenished on a few occasions and elementary cleaning like that of the television screen, bed side tables etc was not done. I would put it down to a lax housekeeping policy. I left my comments with the hotel management and they were kind enough to respond with an apology. The gesture is appreciated and I really hope they fix these seemingly small issues which make a huge difference to the seasoned traveller.

Overall, I am tempted to give The James another chance as they really do have some nice touches to offer. The location for one is unbeatable. Some of the quirky touches in the hotel appealed to my sensibilities and the one that stood out was an entire wall made of discarded computer keys. Talk about being eco-friendly in a funky way. The staff too is efficient and courteous. They just need to be a little more clued in to what kind of advice to offer tourists. In this particular respect, the concierge services at The Library Hotel at Madison Avenue were outstanding and might serve as a good role model for The James to emulate. At close to USD 500++ per night, I do expect some frills and personalized attention at a luxury hotel. What The James lacks can be easily acquired and/or fixed if the management puts enough emphasis on it. I might drop by The James in the future but for now, this one is a wait and watch.